The Gacaca courts in Rwanda

Before 1994, Rwanda was an almost unknown country hidden in the heart of Africa. On 6 April 1994, however, the aircraft carrying the then President Juvénal Habyarimana was shot down over the skies of the capital, Kigali. This signalled the start of a campaign of genocidal violence against the Tutsi minority ethnic group and the so-called ‘moderate’ Bahutu belonging to the majority ethnic group but opposed to the regime in place. In the space of 100 days, approximately 800,000 people died.